The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 34 points to 12,530.91 (0.27%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 11points (-0.38%) to 2,839.38, and the S&P 500 rose 0.14% or nearly 2 points to 1,320.73.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) maintained as ‘neutral’ but estimates raised at Credit Suisse; ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) raised to ‘buy’ at S&P; Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS; National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) raised to ‘buy’ at SocGen; and MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) raised to ‘buy’ with a target price of $46 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Hewlett-Packard is up 3% at $21.72 (more coverage here); Fred’s Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) is down -2.5% at $14.05; H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) is down -0.8% at $53.41; Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is down -7.5% at $57.17 after posting a new 52-week low of $55.75 earlier today (more coverage here); Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is up 1% at $84.16 (more coverage here); and The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) is down -0.3% at $76.54.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to get earnings reports from America’s Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Mentor Graphics Inc. (NASDAQ: MENT), Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST), Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO), and JDA Software Group Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS).

We’ve also reviewed some potential value stocks among major oil companies, gold & silver miners, conglomerates, industrials, retail, and semiconductor stocks.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Rosetta Genomics Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSG) is up nearly 52% at $17.07. The medical device maker is still booming on last week’s announcement that treatment would be covered by Medicare.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is up 12.5% at $11.62. The Internet radio company reported better-than-expected results last night. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

Paul Ausick

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Reiterated Buy with $43 target at Argus.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Raised to Buy at S&P.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO) Raised to Buy at UBS.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale.

Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) named as Bull of the Day in its turnaround at Zacks.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Maintained Buy but target cut to $18 from $22 at Argus.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) Raised to Buy at UBS.

Eaton Vance (NYSE: EV) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup.

Express Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) Maintained Neutral but raised 2012/2013 estimates by 2% at Credit Suisse.

Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Cut to Market Perform with a price target of $13.00 at BMO Capital.

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) Started as Buy at CRT Capital.

MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) Reiterated Buy with $46 target at Argus.

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) Raised to Buy at Societe Generale.

OCZ Technology Group Inc (NYSE: OCZ) Started as Outperform with $8 target at Credit Suisse.

RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

RailAmerica Inc. (NYSE: RA) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Three calls seen on NetApp (see here).

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox.  We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

JON C. OGG

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) saw a gain of 18.7% in short interest as of for the two weeks ended April 30th. More than 6.6 million shares were added to short interest and 20% of the company’s float is now short. The coal miner’s poor earnings and forecast are to blame.

Short interest in Exco Resources Inc. (NYSE: XCO) rose nearly 12% to more than 33.5 million shares, or 19.3% of the company’s float. The oil & gas driller missed revenue expectations, although it did post a profit. Revenue is more important now however.

Among the largest overall short positions, SandRidge Energy Co. (NYSE: SD) got short interest on 49.5 million shares, nearly 12% of its float and up 6.7% from the previous reporting period. Shares are down more than -33% in the past 12 months, and the small spikes don’t affect short sellers here. The long-term outlook for natural gas continues to call for weak pricing.

E&P company Forest Oil Co. (NYSE: FST) was another recipient of more short interest in late April. Short sellers added about 3 million shares, a 24.7% increase and enough to put nearly 13% of the company’s float short.

Even Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) didn’t escape. Short sellers added 7.7 million shares to their positions, a 31.8% change to 32 million shares, but still less than 1% of Exxon’s shorts.

The final energy company we’ll look at here is Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), where 5.8 million additional shares were added to short positions, bringing total shorts to just over 79 million shares. That’s an addition of 8% and represents 5.9% of Duke’s float. It’s odd to see a utility on this list.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD)saw short interest in its share rise by 6.5% to more than 70 million shares or 11.9% of the company’s float. AMD continues to suffer from lower-than-expected earnings and revenues.

Short interest in Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) jumped 265% to more 13.4 million shares. While still only about 0.5% of the company’s float, but generic drug sales are hurting the company as is a weak economy in Europe. Neither condition is expected to improve soon either.

Short interest in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) also rose sharply, buy 21.4% to reach a total of 63.6 million shares, about 0.8% of the company’s float. Like Sanofi, competition from generics hurts. The company also said it will reduce marketing expenditures on its Lipitor drug.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) gets the honor for being the equity with the largest number of short shares, 195 million, which represents 5.2% of the company’s float. The good news is that short interest fell by more than 32 million shares, also the largest change.

More than 75% of Barnes & Noble Inc.’s (NYSE: BKS) float is short, about 19.8 million shares. Short interest in the company grew by just 700,000 shares since mid-April.

Short interest holds more than 42% of grocer SuperValue Inc.’s (NYSE: SVU) shares with a total of 88.5 million shares short, up slightly from two weeks ago.

Short interest in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) actually fell slightly , but the company’s total of 50.5 million shares short represents 25.3% of the float and 22 days to cover.

Short interest in for-profit educator DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV) jumped 123.2% to 3.7 million shares or 6.3% of the company’s float. Another education company, Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE: BPI) posts short interest of more than 9.7 million shares, or 56% of its float.

Paul Ausick

James H. Hance, Jr., Sprint’s chairman, is as much to blame for the company’s problems as Hesse. He has been on the board since 2005. That means he helped pick Hesse. It also means he has been part of all board discussions about how Sprint might turnaround its loss of market share to AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Wireless. Hance was also a critical player in the board’s decision to block an $8 billion deal to merge with MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS), which Hesse has championed.

Hance is poorly qualified to lead the Sprint board. He is what many corporate governance experts call a “serial board member.” He sits on the boards of directors of Cousins Properties (NYSE: CUZ), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Ford Motor (NYSE: F) and Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK). Shares in Duke are up 15% over the last year, but those in Morgan Stanley are off 35% and Ford shares are down 30%. Shares in Cousins are off 10% during that period. And Sprint’s shares are 55% lower over the same period, as well as off by nearly 90% since Hance joined the board.

Hance ought to have his hands full with Sprint. The balance of his board work can only be a distraction.

Sprint has not been a viable standalone company for many years. The board should have played the most significant part in remedying that. Sprint has needed a marriage or sale for some time. Hance clearly has not provided leadership as Sprint tries to get a reasonable return to shareholders via the few means available.

Hesse is in the headlines every time Sprint’s fortunes falter. Hance should be there, too.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 168 points to 13,038.04 (-1.28%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 68 points (-2.25%) to 2,956.34, and the S&P 500 fell -1.62% or more than 22 points to 1,369.09.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) target price raised to $140 at Susquehanna; FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) raised to ‘strong buy’ at Raymond James; The Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) started as ‘outperform’ at BMO; and Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) reiterated ‘buy’ and target price of $14 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down -6% at $16.98 after posting a new 52-week low of $16.80 earlier today (more solar coverage here); SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) is down -2.1% at $5.58; AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) is down -0.7% at $12.13 (more utilities coverage here); Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) is up 0.9% at $21.60; Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) is down -5.8% at $60.44 (more coverage here); The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) is down -5.4% at $355.88; Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) is down -0.7% at $38.54; and The Madison Square Garden Co. (NASDAQ: MSG) is up 3.7% at $37.87 after posting a new 52-week high of $38.38..

On Monday we get earnings from American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR), Breitburn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: BBEP), Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN), Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH), Louisiana Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX), Kid Brands Inc. (NYSE: KID), Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), and Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BAGL) is up 19.9% at $16.84 after posting a new 52-week high of $17.68 earlier today. The bagel maker and restaurateur reported strong earnings and said it would begin to explore strategic options.

Dolby Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: DLB) is up 17.5% at $44.22. The company reported strong earnings and has signed a deal with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). More coverage here.

Body Central Corp. (NASDAQ: BODY) is down -47.8% at $15.11. The young women’s apparel seller reported poor earnings and forecast more of the same until at least back-to-school season.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6- month bill auction
• 3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit report

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE), The AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE), and Alliant Energy Corp. (NYSE: LNT) reported first quarter earnings this morning, and the results are mixed to say the the least.

Duke reported first quarter adjusted EPS of $0.38, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37. Revenue came in at $3.63 billion, better than the estimate of $3.6 billion. In the company’s announcement, it had this to say about the weather: “On an adjusted basis, the effects of mild weather during the quarter were largely offset by the implementation of new customer rates in the Carolinas and reduced operation and maintenance costs at the regulated utilities.” The company also said that it expects to get regulatory approval for its purchase of Progress Energy Inc. (NYSE: PGN).

Spectra reported EPS of $0.51, one penny below the consensus estimate. Revenues totaled $1.54 billion, down -4% from the same period a year ago and well below estimates of $1.62 billion. Spectra, too, blamed the weather, and low natural gas prices: “First quarter 2012 earnings in line with expectations, except for the effects of lower commodity prices and warmer-than-normal weather.” Spectra primarily operates natural gas transmission and distribution lines.

AES reported adjusted EPS of $0.37, significantly better than the consensus estimate of $0.27. Revenues totaled $4.74 billion, again well above the estimate of $4.5 billion. AES did not blame the weather or complain about low prices. The company’s Latin American operations provided the boost. The company reaffirmed guidance with a caveat that cash flow from operations and free cash flow would be at the lower end of their respective ranges. AES also lowered its expected earnings from continuing operations by $0.06 for the year.

Ameren reported adjusted EPS of $0.22 versus a consensus estimate of $0.23. Revenues totaled $1.66 billion, again a slight miss compared with the estimate of $1.7 billion. Ameren did blame the weather for lower natural gas sales and low electricity prices for reducing demand. The company did reaffirm full-year EPS guidance of $2.20-$2.50 versus the consensus estimate of $2.33.

Alliant reported adjusted EPS of $0.50, well down from the consensus estimate of $0.63. Revenue totaled $765.7 million, sharply lower than the estimate of $822.1 million. Warm weather cost the company 22 heating days, with an negative impact of -$0.12 on adjusted EPS. The company reaffirmed full-year EPS guidance of $2.75-$3.05 versus a consensus estimate of $2.93. Alliant also said that full-year EPS would be near the lower end of the range.

Duke and AES, both of which derive a good portion of their revenues and profits from power generation, were able to overcome the effects of warm weather and low natural gas prices even though both companies complained about the weather. The gas companies had a tougher time, but only Alliant really got battered by warm weather effects.

Paul Ausick

The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.11% at 79.221. The GSCI commodity index is down about -1.3% at 678.65, with commodities mixed on the small gains in the dollar. WTI crude oil closed down -2.6% at $102.54/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.84% at $116.02/barrel. Gold settled down -1.2% today, at $1,634.80/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 62 points to 13,206.59 (-0.47%), the NASDAQ fell more than 35 points (-01.16%) to 3,024.30, and the S&P 500 fell -0.77% or nearly 11 points to 1,391.57.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) maintained as ‘buy’ but target price cut to $31 at BofA/ML and raised to ‘outperform’ at Bernstein; Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) reiterated ‘buy’ at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and cut to ‘neutral’ at Piper Jaffary; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated as ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) raised to ‘outperform’ with a $185 target price at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) is down -4.4% at $7.63; Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO) is down -21.6% at $3.05; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is down -3.7% at $91.99; Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) is down -2.6% at $18.42; YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is down -8% at $6.79; Steve Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) is down -1.7% at $43.54; Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) is up 0.6% at $64.29 after posting a new 52-week high of $65.37 earlier today; Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) is down -1% at $22.10; Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) is down -2.6% at $59.43 (more coverage here); Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW) is up 4.9% at $4.09; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is down -2.3% at $22.42 (more coverage here); and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is down -4.4% at $12.95.

Tomorrow we get earnings from AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX: LNG), Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL), Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), and The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is down -47.3% at $26.11. The company reported earnings last night, and lowered guidance. More coverage here and here.

Kensey Nash Corp. (NASDAQ: KNSY) is up 32.2% at $38.35. The company is being acquired by a Dutch firm for $360 million. More coverage here.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is down -12.7% at $46.02. The nutrition products company flubbed some questions at last night’s conference call. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. San Francisco Fed President John Williams is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payrolls
• 3:00 p.m. – Treasury STRIPS

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

Paul Ausick

Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone loses market share in China, based on Gartner data. (Reuters)

Improved odds of a Greek bailout lift markets. (Reuters)

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to target consumer collection agencies. (Reuters)

Chinese search company Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) will pursue mobile applications for growth. (Reuters)

Ally may be sold because its IPO plans have faced difficulty. (Reuters)

Alibaba says it will not work on foreign M&A in the future. (Reuters)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) used tracking software to take private information on people who use the Apple mobile OS. (WSJ)

UBS (NYSE: UBS) traders establish schemes to set interest rates around the world. (WSJ)

EU-based banks find stability in U.S. consumer operations. (WSJ)

European Central Bank and German plans to aid Greece probably will allow the southern European nation to finally get its bailout. (WSJ)

The Export-Import Bank may match financing set by countries like China to help U.S. exporters. (WSJ)

Twitter launches a program to attract small advertisers. (WSJ)

The International Monetary Fund will offer austerity rules in Greece that will spread the effects over many years. (WSJ)

Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) says it may need to raise more capital. (WSJ)

The EU airline emissions fee faces challenges from a number of quarters. (WSJ)

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) to pursue its $13.7 billion bailout of Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN). (WSJ)

Large investor Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) may determine the fate of the Xstrata and Glencore International merger. (WSJ)

Congress wants to auction TV airwaves to raise money to help improve the deficit. (NYT)

Positive comments from investigators examining Apple supplier Foxconn may be premature. (NYT)

U.S. taxpayers will help support a deal on mortgages set between the federal government and five banks. (FT)

Germany wants one voice from EU ministers set to rescue Greece, which would include approval of an ECB debt swap. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 123 points to 12,904.01 (0.96%), the NASDAQ rose more than 44 points (1.51%) to 2,959.85, and the S&P 500 rose 1.1% or nearly 15 points to 1,358.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) cut to ‘equal-weight’ at Morgan Stanley; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML; Lorillard Inc. (NYSE: LO) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies; and MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) raised to ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) is up 7.3% at $85.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $86.30; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is up 0.14% at $107.82; Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is up 1.24% at $48.02; DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is down -1.9% at $45.41; Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) is up 1.53% at $21.19; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up 9% at $27.17; Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) is up 3% at $45.18; Strayer Education Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) is down -8% at $105.81; and PF Chang’s China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) is up 2% at $35.35.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Jingwei International Ltd. (NASDAQ: JNGW) is up more than 43% at $2.08. The Chinese software company is being taken private.

Advance America, Cash Advance Centers Inc. (NYSE: AEA) is up more than 32% at $10.46 after posting a new 52-week high of $10.55 early this morning. The cash advance provider is being acquired by Mexico’s Grupo Elektra for $10.50/share, for a total price of about $655 million.

HyperDynamics Corp. (NYSE: HDY) is down nearly -30% at $1.42 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.01 earlier this morning. The independent oil & gas exploration and production company reported only non-commercial quantities of hydrocarbons at its offshore West African field.

PMFG Inc. (NASDAQ: PMFG) is down nearly -20% at $16.85. The machinery maker has announced a secondary offering of 2.6 million shares at $16/share.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR) is down nearly -16% at $12.28. The car rental company posted an unexpected loss in the fourth quarter.

Stay tuned for Friday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index
• 10:00 a.m. – Leading economic indicators

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

Paul Ausick

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) shares almost hit a 52-week high on Wednesday.  Estimates are $0.75 EPS and $1.32 billion in sales.

Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) $2.87 EPS on $4.3 billion in revenue; watch for news on northern Africa operations.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) $0.12 EPS on $1.97 billion in sales; next quarter estimates are $0.16 EPS on $2.08 billion in sales.  This report will have every chip cap-ex stock elsewhere looking closely.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is the “Google of China’ by many investors… estimates are $0.91 EPS and $700.75 million in sales.  Next quarter estimates are $0.83 EPS and $665.9 million in sales.   Around $138 it is back in the middle of its 52-week trading range.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) $1.27 EPS and shares are in the lower half of the 52-week range.

DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV) $0.92 EPS on $7.4 billion in sales; Team Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway added shares to the position.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) $1.48 EPS on $1.85 billion in sales; Team Buffett added this as a new position for the Berkshire Hathaway holdings.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) $0.21 EPS on $3.37 billion in revenue

EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK) is still around and acting as a business broadband provider rather than just a dial-up ISP of the days past.  Estimates are $0.04 EPS and $349.23 million in sales.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) $0.41 EPS and $38.2 billion in sales; GM is still a busted IPO but is trading down under 7-times 2012 expected earnings.  Value, or value trap?

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) -$1.11 EPS on $808 million in sales.  Watch shares of MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS).

Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) $0.70 EPS

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) $1.10 EPS on $3.18 billion in sales

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) was the ‘solar buyout that only got partly acquired’ and shares have been bashed.  At $7.36, the 52-week range is $4.94 to $23.36.  Earnings estimates are -$0.05 EPS on $669 million in sales.

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) $0.60 EPS on $3.35 billion in revenue.  The 3.8% yield may make more interest than in rival Republic Services.

Web.com Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW) is expected to post $0.23 EPS and $93.95 million in sales.  If all goes well, this one trades at less than 10-times expected 2012 earnings.  It has been hard to not notice a high degree of advertising out of Web.com of late.

Thursday’s Economic Data:

8:30 AM EST Weekly Jobless Claims (365K est.)

8:30 AM EST January Housing Starts (677K est.)

8:30 AM EST January PPI (+0.4% es.)

9:00 AM EST Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks on community banking

10:00 AM EST Treasury’s Geithner speaks to Senate Budget Committee

10:00 AM EST February Philly Fed

10:30 AM EST Weekly Natural Gas inventories

4:30 PM EST Feb. 15 Foreign Central Bank Treasury Holdings

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

JON C. OGG